1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to meters for measuring the amount of electrical energy used over a certain period of time and has particular reference to meters of the type which are used to register the amount of electrical energy used by customers of electric power companies or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to determine the amount of electrical energy furnished by electric power companies to their customers for billing purposes, electric energy measuring meters, such as watt hour meters, are generally connected in the electric service circuits at various customers' premises. Periodically, usually once a month, meter readers are sent to the different customers' premises to read the meters whereby the amount of electrical energy used by each customer during a preceeding billing period may be calculated.
The placement of the meters on the different customers' premises is generally determined by local building codes, the location of the electric service or by the construction of a building to which the service is connected so that little or no consideration is generally given to the convenience of reading such meters.
Generally, the meter reader must enter the premises of each customer in order to properly read each meter. This not only entails considerable time spent by the meter reader but since most meters are located at the rear of a building or at the rear of the customer's premises other difficulties are often encountered. For example, many buildings are enclosed by fencing or walls which have locked gates, preventing normal entrance. In other cases, vicious dogs are kept within such enclosures to prevent entrance of strangers.
Since millions of such meters must be read each month, it will be appreciated that the reading of electric meters of the above type is time consuming and thus expensive, particularly because of the time it takes for the meter readers to reach appropriate viewpoints to properly read the meters. Accordingly, this requires a large number of persons whose sole job is to go from one customer's premises to another to read and record different electric meters.